Wednesday, 28 September 2016

Transitional dressing is all about layering, and when it comes to layering knits are essential hero pieces in your wardrobe. These are some of the great knits we found on Zara.com (Uk/US website).

Disclaimer: you can't shop the Zara website in India, and please don't expect to see these exact same items in your nearby Zara shop. Zara is all about fast fashion so the merchandise changes really fast.
However, a good bit of prior window shopping, and knowing what you are looking for are always good ideas before you walk into any store- you can minimize impulse purchases and go for what matters.

Take a look and let us know, in the comments section below, if you have recently purchased a great knitwear piece for your fall wardrobe, from Zara.
If you were to choose one knitwear item from Zara, what would it be?

Better than grey- silver. This simple shiny jumper is blingy, but in a nice way.
Pop it on with a pair of simple jeans and strappy heels to lift your outfit from the blahdinary to chic.
There are other color options to choose from too.

You know those days when it's chilly, and you just want to stay in bed with a hot mug of coffee, and watch youtube videos? Then you realize you've run out of milk...yeah.
Basically, this cardigan is great for luxing up a less-than-inspired outfit underneath.
Well, please do not run out in your PJs; at the very least pull on your everyday jogger pants/leggings...

Very Chanel inspired.
You can wear this over a plain cream/ navy striped t-shirt paired with a skinny dark denim, you can throw on some pearls and add simple black ballet flats- et voilà-the perfect look for a casual day at the mall.
Also great for the airport- look at Kate Moss below in a Chanel cardi...

(Though it might not fall in the sweaters category, technically this is knitwear)

This is why Zara is killing it; we agree this dress is very Gucci inspired, but even so -can you think of a better looking holiday-season cocktail dress? And at that price too...
Metallics are actually neutrals, so this dull gold number is more versatile than you think.
To tone it down for non-party use, consider adding a simple white shirt or a ribbed turtleneck underneath .
or maybe you can throw on an oversized military jacket? To further reduce the "party" factor, pair the dress with some flat slip-on mules (like the Gucci ones?) or maybe plain white sneakers.
Perfection.

Tuesday, 27 September 2016

Being a fashion lover means you love great design and stylish living, and you probably have an insatiable love for bags, shoes and leather goods of all kinds. Of course, there are bags and shoes that are created from non-leather (or faux leather) materials, but let's face it nothing comes close to high-quality genuine leather. Fake is not real...

The dilemma is- how do we indulge our love for beautiful leather goods, without being a part of the associated cruelty? Is it even possible? The entire issue is quite complicated; here are just some of the things that make it so-

Are we talking about cow & goat leather or exotic skins (from wild animals we do not eat)?

If we stop using leather what happens to the hides generated from the meat we consume (because that is not stopping anytime soon)?

Isn't it okay if we can breed wild animals in captivity and we don't kill the wild ones?

Aren't "higher beings" supposed to use lower life forms- isn't that the natural order?

Is it about the animals, or is it about pollution and exploitation of workers (which is about us humans again)?

Well, as you see the subject cannot be covered, understood or solved with any degree of thoroughness
in a single blog post- but that isn't our intention anyway.

Now, at the risk of over simplification, typically there are 3 types of responses to leather (other responses lie somewhere along the spectrum)-I love it, I don't care where it comes from and if I don't buy it someone else will.I love it. I know about those horror stories, and they bother me, but I'm not sure what I can do; I choose to ignore the problem and live with the pangs of guilt I feel. I wish there was a better way...

I hate it, people who love leather are inhuman monsters, and everybody should go vegan- tomorrow.

The problem with response 2 is- it's not even a real response, it's called avoidance.

This post is mostly for theresponse 2 people, that is where the majority of fashion lovers sit today.
As long as you feel guilty once-in-a-while but continue to buy leather- you are our target audience.

By accepting that we are conflicted about leather, we can face reality and move towards finding a solution, rather than living in denial and continuing down the path of reckless consumption - like the response 1 folks.

To be honest, we don't really want everyone to become like the 3s either- unless you genuinely feel that way.
You'll stop enjoying fashion, be perpetually full of angst & guilt, and unless you become a full-fledged wildlife activist or Stella McCartney, or a tissue engineer growing real leather in the lab- you'll not contribute in any meaningful way. Nothing will change fast, you'll die unhappy.

Just because there is no hope for quick success in the matter, it doesn't mean the situation is hopeless.
Let us focus, instead, on what we can do; let's list out some practical but effective steps that we can take to become more aware and responsible in our choices- without giving up entirely, on leather.
If enough people do even that much, things can get a lot better.
If not, at least you're trying, and you don't have to feel guilty anymore!

So, response 2 folks- let's be smart here. Our aim is to create a rough "decision-tree" and some action points that will get you what you want (beautiful shoes and bags), with the least amount of "sacrifice" to your satisfaction levels, and with far less guilt.This, of course, would be just a rough guide; you'll have to invest some time in reading and reflection, and create a specific plan for yourself.

Once you clarify/ articulate (to yourself) a coherent position regarding how you really feel about leather, and how much you are willing to do/ give up, you can create your personal action plan that feels authentic (so you will be more likely to follow through). Remember- It doesn't have to be burdensome, you just need 5-6 action points/rules that you vow to follow consistently.

There are some excellent sources of information (interesting articles) linked below which may help you to gain better perspective on the entire matter. In the second part of this post, we will attempt to draft a rough action plan.

Tell us what you think in the comments section, and stay tuned for part 2...

Wednesday, 21 September 2016

Zara has a deliberate strategy of producing more designs but in limited numbers, this ensures that every week new stuff keeps coming to the stores and gets sold-out just as fast. This, in turn, creates scarcity-anxiety among Zara lovers and a constant rush to get the best stuff. It's part of what makes the brand so successful

Since the cooler months are coming, we thought we would make a wishlist of all the great outerwear we liked at Zara.* So, while we love these outerwear pieces from the International Zara website/s (you can't shop the Zara website in India), please don't expect to see these exact same items in your nearby Zara shop.

We have to say Zara's UK website had so much good stuff it was very tough to choose just a few things.

*We will do more Zara wishlists with other garments and accessories soon.

Yes, it's impractical because it's not black, and we realise robin egg blue is not you typical winter colour...
However, there is something timeless about the silhouette, and actually, blue is really a very wearable colour- it goes well with black, grey, white and even beige!If you remain unmoved- you can check out similar options available in camel and burgundy.There is one in grey, double-breasted style.

Navy is even better than black when it comes to outerwear ( no not really- but close).The french actually think so. This water resistant trench looks pretty well made for the price, and we don't have to tell you why you need a navy trench-coat in your closet.

Of course it is available in camel- but really, you should consider the navy.

These beautiful and slinky bombers might not be great protection against the chill, but they are so sporty-luxe you can style them in a hundred different ways, especially because of the subdued neutral color palette.They are so exquisite you will want to keep them forever.

Saturday, 17 September 2016

Note- This post is mostly about the 1980s - to now. The 1960s-70s were a bit different, there was awave of westernization mostly because the western world had discovered Osho,Yoga and Eastern spiritualism in general; there was major cultural exchange including music and fashion sensibility. Trends like boho maxis, head-bands, flared pants and long hair (for men) were doing the rounds in India and everyone was in love with the Beatles. Those were interesting times, but we are not touching upon that era in this post

There was a time, maybe fifteen years back, when even in the Indian metros, a salwar kameez wearing college girl and a sari-clad working woman were a fairly common sight, and were considered pretty fine. These were urban middle-class women, who still followed Bollywood fashion trends, and got clothes stitched at the local tailor. The well-to-do women sometimes bought "ready-made suits" from a local boutique, usually owned by a smart lady neighbor with relatively good taste, up-to-date knowledge of movies, and a sense of good "fitting", commandeering a small group of male "masterjis" who drafted
and cut the patterns and "kaarigars" who did the embroidery.
(this set-up is still operational, and doing pretty well even today)

In the 90s, young women were just beginning to experience organized retail chains in larger towns, and they thought Shopper's Stop, Westside and FabIndia were the best things to happen to fashion since Zeenat Aman. Women/girls who wore western clothes to college or work were still considered "cooler than thou". Stardust and Femina were the last word when it came to what was fashionable.

Then came economic liberalization and a flood of western brands and western (American, mostly) movies which began to influence Hindi cinema. The beauty prototype started to change, once again, in Bollywood movies.The good girl (the heroine who always gets the guy) was no longer the girl in the salwar kameez with the fluttering chiffon veil. The good girl could now be in dresses and pants! The Indian middle-class girl had every reason to change.

International fashion magazines debuted, and began to sell more copies than ever - Marie Claire, Elle and the fashion bible Vogue fueled the desire to look stylish and modern (synonymous with American). A lot of young girls couldn't afford to buy the ready-made western wear available at the retail chains, so the tailor masters (mostly men, good at pattern drafting and cutting) happily fished out their old western pattern-making books and proudly executed orders for frocks, skirts and pants; they were charging bomb prices for recreating looks from magazines.

By mid- late 2000s, The young urban Indian woman in the large metro cities had all but stopped wearing Indian garments, and had "switched up" to western casual outfits and work-wear formals. She had ambitious plans for her life (like her American sisters) and frumpy traditional dressing (like her mom) wasn't part of them.
As broadband internet, fashion blogs, Instagram and YouTube exploded , Indian women quickly picked up the latest trends,beauty rituals and styling tricks from across the globe; now they knew it all and felt on par with global fashion Divas; they also wanted to look like these fashionistas from abroad.
The arrival and rapid spread of international fashion and beauty brands like Zara, Mango and H&M and Sephora made that dream possible- the makeover was complete. For the big city Indian, at least.

Now everybody, including girls from the smallest of towns, wanted to wear only ready-made western apparel ; even if that meant buying ill-fitting, badly styled, cheap, polyester clothes from some inane town store or online portal. Great! Indians were becoming really fashionable now...

The poor salwar-kameez and sari were relegated to festivals and weddings; only heirlooms and the most expensive/designer variety were allowed to linger in the closet.The big money for fashion designers was still the wedding collections, of course (Indians will always want to wear rich and expensive, traditional garments for special occasions). But, women who chose Indian clothes as daily/office outfits were in grave danger of being considered unsophisticated, not quite with-the-times, and middle-aged "aunty-type" with rather pedestrian taste.

Then, something changed. We can't put a finger on it, but designers and store brands alike started noticing an opportunity in the form of women who wanted to be stylish and more International, but were reluctant to totally give up on Indian wear. There was also the woman who had OD'd on mass produced high-street western brands and was looking for more sophisticated, unique, authentic and comfortable designs to reflect her true personality - Indian with a global lifestyle.

Around the same time, young Indian designers who went abroad to study fashion, realized how exotic and attractive Indian culture was to the jaded western world. When asked to dig deep for inspiration, these Indian designers, training abroad, kind-of "rediscovered" our vast and priceless heritage of brilliant textiles and incredible handwork.

The west had mastered the craft of high-precision garment making, but the incessant and frantic pace
of prêt-à-porter was killing the joy of creativity in fashion design; genuine inspiration was hard to come by. There was relentless pressure to churn out brilliant and best-selling designs multiple times a year.
The trend-driven, copy-cat high-street brands were catching up and high-end designers were exhausted trying to stay ahead in terms of better design and sales. It wasn't all mood-boards, champagne and after-parties...it was cut-throat.

The prevalent disenchantment with the western ready-to-wear fashion system probably inspired many of these young Indian designers (along with the global recession, perhaps) who had honed their design skills abroad, to come back home and set up design studios to create India-inspired, International quality clothes.
Top Indian-schooled designers from NIFT, meanwhile, had also moved beyond geographical boundaries and proved their mettle, and as their market expanded they began to look beyond couture-style occasion-wear (lehengas and saris) towards prêt everyday wear with more globally appealing shapes.Sensing the market forces, the stalwarts of Indian fashion, started marketing younger and more International diffusion lines, accelerating things further.

Now, the Indian garment was being designed to be appealing not just to the contemporary urban Indian woman, who herself was well-educated, well-paid, well-traveled, and well-exposed to International fashion trends, but to any woman, anywhere on earth, if she was truly global in her mindset.
These modern Indian designs with carefully placed delicate embellishments , sophisticated cuts, and more subtle styling clicked; suddenly, Indian-wear was no longer gaudy, uninspiring or "behenji".

This * new * Indian garment has a sophisticated and minimalist International design sensibility , but still uses Indian silhouettes, Indian weaves,embroidery, colors and prints evoking the essence of Indian heritage but not in an overwhelming way. This garment not only looks great on the Indian woman, but works really well for the Indian climate and lifestyle. Finally, the Indian woman has ethnic clothes that match her global outlook. She can travel the world and chart out her world domination plans in these threads.In short, ethnic wear is back on the scene, and back in business.

When Vogue did a feature on the new Sari and when a couple of Bollywood celebrities endorsed these new brands the comeback was official. The timing could not have been more fortuitous, this phenomenal return of the Indian garment coincides perfectly with an overall global trend that leans towards "non-mass-produced", authentic, indigenous and conscious lifestyle choices.

Now there is a " resurgent pride" in being Indian, as India become a power-player on the world stage being Indian means being global in many ways. Indian fashionistas are realizing that style must have integrity and should reflect who you are; there is no point trying to look like everyone else on the planet!
The point of style , if there is one beyond pure aesthetics, lies in making everyone else want to look like you.

Take a look at some prime examples of the New Indian garment...

Ps- These are non sponsored, non-premeditated selections from the web, across various price points.

The lines between Western and Indian wear are blurring; fusion is looking less awkward and 'wannabe',and seems more sophisticated and easy-to-wear these days. That, more than anything else, indicates how India has grown at-ease with itself, and that it is nowmore sure of its place in the world.

Hope you enjoyed this post.
Do let us know, in the comments section below, of all the great websites you visit to find the very best
Indian wear- designer or otherwise. Also let us know if you have especially loved/bought any recent designs by Indian designers.

Wednesday, 14 September 2016

Right, once upon a time, long, long ago...brogues were considered old-fashioned and nerdy (and for men).Not any more my friends, as you might have noticed (No? but they've around for years now!).

They made a fierce comeback around 2008/09, at least roughly around that time, as "dandy inspired" women's wear items, and have remained on the scene since then, refusing to go away.
Here's a really hilarious story about how they might have become fashionable again.

No one is complaining, they sure look cute! Ballet flats can't be the only comfortable shoe style for women!!(Thank goodness, sneakers have become mainline fashion shoes too! More in another post...)

Look at some of the best brogues (mistakenly called oxfords sometimes, though oxfords can be brogues they are not the same) and "brogue inspired" shoes we have rounded up for you.
The best part- these are all from Indian (functional in India) shopping websites, so shop away!!

PS: Here's a little fashion trivia for you.
Brogues are named after broguing (decorative perforations) and they aren't a style of shoe really, because broguing can be done on any type of shoe !Men's formal shoes are basically of two types: Oxford and Derby.More details here with diagrams and what have you...also here in case you are the OCD type.

Some styling tips can be found here for further inspiration, if the pictures below are not enough.

PS: This really isn't a proper lace-up brogue, but rather a high-heeled loafer with broguing ( best of both styles, we say). However, we did say "brogue inspired", and to be honest we could not resist adding one pair of heels to the list, and this is an outstanding pair of shoes!

We hope you liked these shoes, let us know in the comments below if you've managed to find a fabulous pair online! Also share styling tips on how you like to wear them.

Sunday, 11 September 2016

Gucci is having an extended "brilliant moment" , in case you didn't realize, read all about it here.Alessandro Michele is the new creative director and, may we say, he's done a spectacular job of bringing about a bonafide resurgence for the brand. Suddenly the GG sign is flying off the racks again.

Gucci is suddenly an urgently desirable brand, it was always a good brand though the flame was burning low- but now, everyone is dying to just have their latest stuff ASAP.
That makes all the difference- doesn't it? Fashion is all about *strong desire* to act - not just see!

Here is some of their highly desirable merchandise rounded up from across 3-4 of our favorite online luxury shopping destinations: Net-a-porter (an old favorite) , Mytheresa , Luisa via Roma (the next two best options, as per us), and the pre-owned fashion shop - Vestiaire Collective (warning- you will have to signup to browse on this one, but it's totally worth it!).

Enjoy!
Do let us know if you have any favorite pieces that you are in love with, in the comments section below.

These are perfection, and high-heeled loafers are going to be around for a bit. In black, they are going to be chic forever...
Geeky they may be, but they go so well with everything and the horsebit motif is so in right now, that
these are the arguably the most desirable loafers on the planet today!

This is a no-brainer, the jacket is amazing-looking, and will stay that way season after season.
It's expensive, yes- but Plaid is a classic, and this piece is just so sporty and fresh, it will put
a spring in your step. What's the price of joy, anyway?

Well, if you aren't too hung up about practicality, this pair of backless, slip-on loafers is an absolute stunner.
To be fair, they are such a statement piece, you can throw on a pair of distressed jeans and a white t-shirt and simply slip these on- you will look and feel like a million bucks, instantly. Guaranteed.

Though we prefer solids not patterns in expensive clothing, there are always exceptions.The ageless, classic silhouette of this dress and the subdued colors, will allow you to wear it for a while-even through spring next year.

Small but lovely this slim silk scarf in a green and red geometric print is a little piece of Italian luxury,
and so stylishly versatile.
Hint: Green and red is suddenly a sporty, fresh combination, not just meant for holiday season greetings!

Classic black belt, and a GG buckle-what's more to say? You need this.

PS- we love almost everything from the Gucci stores on these websites, but in the interest of saving your time and ours, we have limited this post to the above items only...you can always visit the links above and explore all the items there at leisure.